ELEANOR HALL: Australia's Ambassador to Burma, Bob Davis, says the death toll from the latest crackdown is likely to be far higher than the 10 protesters the regime has admitted have been killed.

Ambassador Davis called on the regime yesterday to show restraint.

Today he told The World Today that the military spraying peaceful demonstrators with bullets is not restraint.

BOB DAVIS: I think Eleanor, certainly we're appalled at the violence by military and thugs against peaceful demonstrators here in Rangoon yesterday. The authorities on state television last night admitted that 10 people had been killed, including a foreign national, who in fact is a Japanese national.

We have unconfirmed reports that a significantly larger number were killed when the military opened fire on crowds yesterday in Rangoon.

ELEANOR HALL: Are you able to put a figure on that for us?

BOB DAVIS: No, there's still not a confirmation.

We spoke to a number of people overnight last night, before the curfew provisions applied. We have individual reports from them of seeing, as I say, significantly more than that number of dead being removed from the scene of the demonstrations in central Rangoon yesterday.

ELEANOR HALL: Unofficially, what sort of numbers are you hearing?

BOB DAVIS: Several multiples of the 10 acknowledged by the authorities.

ELEANOR HALL: You've been right there as demonstrators have marched in the streets. What's your sense of how they're likely to respond? How determined are they?

BOB DAVIS: Well, I think the regime has done nothing at this stage to do anything other than inflame the demonstrators. They've certainly attempted to intimidate, firstly by the broadcasting right behind the crowds the day before yesterday of the marshal law provisions, which are quite draconian.

In addition to that, the violence against the crowds, the assault on a large number of monasteries overnight on Wednesday night throughout Rangoon, severe beatings of many monks, the arrests of several hundred monks. All of that intimidation and completely inappropriate response to peaceful demonstrations has certainly done nothing other than for the moment isolate some of the communities of monks.

ELEANOR HALL: Are there already signs this morning that the demonstrations will continue?

BOB DAVIS: We expect the demonstrations will continue again today.

ELEANOR HALL: How tense is it though?

BOB DAVIS: It's very tense.

The demonstrators, many of them still remember very graphically the carnage that occurred in 1988 here when military opened fire on crowds and killed thousands.

They certainly have seen that the military are again prepared to fire on people. We very thankfully, have not seen the escalation by the military that occurred in 1988. And Australia and other members of the international community are very strongly urging the authorities here not to again make that appalling decision that they took in 1988.

ELEANOR HALL: What effect do you think that's going to have? Do you expect that it won't be as violent as 1988? Or do you expect things to become more violent?

BOB DAVIS: We certainly have seen an escalation in the last two days. We saw one confirmed dead on Wednesday. We have confirmation of at least 10 who were killed yesterday.

And again, we are certainly calling on the authorities here to listen both to voice of their own people, and also to the very strong concerns that are being expressed worldwide, including through the United Nations Security Council.

ELEANOR HALL: Well, we've had the international community stepping up the pressure on the regime today with ASEAN expressing revulsion at the response to the protests, but what effect is this likely to have on the military leaders do you think, from your knowledge of them?

BOB DAVIS: We're certainly aware that they have heard the message that we're conveying to them. Yesterday, the Deputy Foreign Minister, U Maung Myint, told us in the morning that the Burmese Government is committed to show restraint in handling this current situation.

I mean, what we would say to them is what we saw yesterday is not restraint and we again call on them to exercise restraint in allowing people to express, in a very peaceful way, their very legitimate concerns.

ELEANOR HALL: Given your concerns, what emergency plans do you have in place to deal with the Australians that are there?

BOB DAVIS: Well, we're talking very closely with the Australian community. In fact, I had a meeting with most of them last evening and also with our Canadian citizens who are here, we have a consular sharing arrangement with Canada.

We have as a matter of course throughout the world in our embassies, consular contingency plans to implement in the event the situation became serious enough to need to recommend the evacuation of Australian citizens.

ELEANOR HALL: Are you likely to do that in the next couple of days do you think?

BOB DAVIS: No, there's no sign at all at this stage that would be warranted. And I certainly encourage them again very strongly, as we do in our travel advice, to avoid demonstrations.

ELEANOR HALL: As Australia's representative in Burma, how much contact do you have with members of the military regime, the very secretive ruling junta there?

BOB DAVIS: The military components of the regime, the senior leadership, as a rule isolate themselves completely from the diplomatic community.

ELEANOR HALL: So, to what extent would you be aware if there were any instability within that military junta? There've been divisions before. Are you aware that there may be some instability prompting these protests?

BOB DAVIS: No, we see, you know, periodic references to instability. I think the regime is not showing any signs of instability.

They are to date showing that they continue their practice of not listening to what either their own people or the international community are saying to them.

ELEANOR HALL: And how long do you think the current situation can go on? Do you think that the reaction can continue as it is, or will the military step up and we'll see a repeat of 1988?

BOB DAVIS: We would certainly urge them not to go down that disastrous path that they chose in 1988. That remains an incredible stain on the current regime, an indelible stain.